I'll never forget you, I promise
by TheatreKidAtHeart
Summary: Sam will never forget Lottie. She comes into the ED in a terrible state. She touches Sam's heart and Sam feels responsible for what happens to her. Robyn and Linda get roped into help and emotions are running high. What is Lottie's story and how will they handle such a heart wrenching case? (Crap at summaries sorry guys)
1. Chapter 1 - Meeting Lottie

**This is based on a true story. I will reveal what's different when I've finished the story. **** Bethie x**

_Dixie's POV _

We'd had another hoax call, on the Farmead estate. Great, Jeff and I had rushed all the way there. Jeff knocked on the door. Nothing. The door was open and Jeff walked inside as I followed closely behind. "Hello, did somebody call an ambulance?" I shouted but with no answer we started checking each room. We had no luck so we headed back to the ambulance.

I started to take a slow drive back to Holby. A silver ford Focus sped past flinging open the left back door. "Bloody idiots!" Jeff shouted. The car screeched and a body was push out of the door. I looked at just stunned and stopped the ambulance. Jeff sprang into action and ran over to the casualty. I sat there in shock.

"Need some help over here Dixie," he collared. I grabbed the medical kit and ran over. As I approached them I saw it was a child. She barely looked 5. "Possible fractured femur and head wound. She's having a panic attack Dix, you're call she looks terrified of me. Princess, this is Dixie she's going to take care of you alright." Jeff ordered me and reassured the little girl.

"Mummy, mummy, mummy..." the little girl cried in desperation. My heart skipped a beat. Bless her, I thought. She needs a hug. So I picked her up in my arms and held her. I tried to reassure her but it wasn't helping. I walked over to the ambulance carefully with Jeff at a safe distance behind me.

Once in the ambulance, I placed her on the bed and attached an oxygen mask to her face. Her eyes were swollen and puffy from the gallon of tears she'd cried since being with us. "Alright sweetheart can you tell me your name?" I asked her softly. She shook her head and began crying harder. "Ok, Ok, never mind. It's ok. Jeff phone ahead we need to let them know sensitive paeds trauma on route," "I asked him. He probably sensed the upset in my voice as there were no terrible jokes, just a "sure thing princess."

After I'd spoken to Sam, I focused back on the child. She was shivering but refused a blanket or to even be touched. Vital signs were a no go so Io decided to verbalise them instead. "Ok, sweetie can you tell me where it hurts?" The girl pointed to her arm, tummy and her inner thighs. Jesus Christ, I thought to myself.

It seemed like an eternity before we reached the ED, and emotion was overcoming me. I felt like I could have done more for the girl but every time I looked at her, I saw a frightened Kathleen Dixon staring back at me. I was choking back tears, trying to be brave. I rushed through to reception and updated Sam on the little girl's condition. I couldn't stand it any longer so I placed the child on the bed and exited rhesus as fast as I could.

I eventually got to the toilets and broke down into tears. Memories of my dad came flooding back and I felt like a lost child. I felt three and I had no control over my tears any longer.

_Sam's POV _

I lost a precious patient today; three year old Lottie. She was a beautiful child with sky blue eyes and ash blonde hair. She was rather thin and small for her age. She was a quite child and I'll never forget her.

Lottie was admitted to hospital when she was found at the side of a road. Jeff and Dixie were returning here when they found her. Jeff rang ahead to say they were on their way with a paediatric trauma and he passed the phone to Dixie. ''Ok, who's she coming in with?'' was all I managed to say. ''She was pushed out of a car Sam and hysterical. Perhaps wait until she's medically better to inform the relevant people,'' She explained. I could hear the upset in Dixie's voice. Nothing EVER bothered Dixie. I could tell it was going to be a long shift.

After 10 minutes of apprehension Dixie finally arrived with a terrified little girl in her arms. A concerned looking Jeff slowly followed behind her. ''Sam we have a young girl approximately three years old. Found road side on the Farmead estate, alone. She has a head injury to the front of the face. Temp is a little low at 35°C. She refused any other vital signs to be monitored. Her resps were 50 our arrival but returned to 26 once she relaxed. She has a lot of bleeding however there is severe bruising to the right forearm. I asked her where it was hurting and she pointed to her tummy. I asked other questions but other than the occasional headshake she never replied.'' Dixie explained. I was a little shocked. All I could do was look at the poor little girl and a tear escaped my eye. Usually kids in hospital never bothered me. Dixie had Mascara down her face so I knew I wasn't the only one upset.

Dixie walked through to rhesus and put the child a bed. ''Thanks Dixie,'' I said as she rushed out of the door. My gaze turned to the child who was now staring up at me, bawling her eyes out. I sat on the bed and put my arms around her. She cowered away but eventually relaxed into my hug. ''Hey sweetie, it's going to be ok. My name is Sam can you tell me your name?'' I asked her. 'Lottie,' she said through her sob and she held on to my side a lot tighter. ''That's a pretty name. And how old are you Lottie?'' ''3,'' she said holding up four fingers. I let out a little giggle. ''Lottie, I'm going to make you feel better ok?'' I said to her. She gave a slight nod before grabbing my side once more.

Blood was dripping down Lottie's forehead and she was shivering. She looked very pale and I knew I needed to treat her quickly. I was getting concerned and as a Dr that wasn't something I liked to admit. ''Lottie sweetheart, I'm worried about your poorly head. I need to go and get my friend to help me make it feel better? I'll be right back,'' I told her. I stood up and Lottie grabbed my hand. ''No,'' she cried. My heart broke; she looked terrified at the thought of being alone. What had this poor child been subjected to?

''I'll be right outside and if you get scared or don't feel very well or want me to come back, you press this button,'' I said handing her the nurse call button. I'd learnt how to reroute it to my pager last week. She gave me a small nod and held the button in her hand.

I ran out of rhesus searching for Linda. I wiped the tears from my eyes and darted to reception. ''Hey princess have you seen Dix? Haven't seen her since she came in with your paeds trauma about half hour ago,'' Jeff asked me. ''No sorry, I've been with the patient since she brought her in. Seen Linda on your travels?'' I replied. ''Cubicle 5 and before I forget, I think this is your patient's?'' He handed me a pink blanket covered in blood and dirt. I thanked him and headed for cubicles.

When I got there I took a deep breath. ''Linda can I have a word it's urgent?'' I asked. "Of course'' she replied. ''Can you help me out? I have a paediatric trauma case in rhesus haven't really got time to explain. Will you bring Robyn too might be a good learning curve for her? Could you also hand our patients over to Zoe? Mrs Rodgers needs discharging and Mr... '' I was interrupted by my pager going off. ''Sorry I need to get back to, see you in ten?' I said rushing off. ''Sure,'' Linda called after me as I ran towards rhesus, hoping Lottie was ok.

When I got back to rhesus, Lottie was having a panic attack. ''Alright Lottie, I'm here. Try and take some deep breaths for me ok? Let's do it together. In and out, in and out.'' She was struggling to breath but this seemed to be helping so I carried on for a little bit. After 5 minutes she calmed down and snuggled into my side.

"Lottie, I need to check if your heart is working properly, will you let me have a listen to your chest?'' I explained as best I could. She shook her head and began crying loudly. I sat for a moment and watched her. "Ok, how about you check my heart first? And then I can listen to your heart, is that a deal?" I suggested. She nodded at my proposal and I handed her my yellow stethoscope. "It's lellow,'' Lottie pointed out. "Yes it is. What's your favourite colour Lottie?'' I asked her trying to make conversation to relax her. "Pink,'' She said with a smile. "That's my favourite colour too,'' I told her.

I showed Lottie where to put the stethoscope and asked her what she could hear. "it workin' Sam' She said excitedly. Bless her I thought. "Can I check yours now Lottie?'' She nodded again. Her heart rate was a little fast but I was expecting that due to the laceration on her head. At that moment Linda and Robyn walked in with a supplies trolley.

I knew this had to be done carefully; the fear in Lottie's eyes grew as they had entered the room. "Do you remember when I told you about my friend Linda?'' I reminded her but Lottie just stared at Linda. I held her hand and she flinched. "It's ok; this is Linda and her friend Robyn. Lottie has been a very brave girl haven't you," I said to her. Lottie clung to my scrubs and buried her head in my side. "Slowly," I mouthed to them both. Linda nodded.

"Sam, you left this in cubicles,'' it was Lottie's blanket. Linda came over to the bed and Lottie reached out her unbroken hand. "Blankie,'' She said taking it off Linda. After this Lottie started to feel a little easier and she took a shine to Robyn. She let me treat her head wound which needed stitches. There were a few tears and Lottie still appeared a little disorientated. Even after several hours, she was still uneasy.

"Lottie sweetheart, where is your mummy?" Robyn asked her. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked up and pointed out of the window towards the sky. I instantly knew what she meant and a tear escaped my eye. "What about daddy? Where's he?'' Linda tried. "NO,NO,NO,NO.." Lottie started shaking and crying. I looked at Linda and Robyn in astonishment. "Ok darling, calm down for me. You safe here, I promise. Nobody can hurt you. I'm here, its ok!" I said trying to reassure her everything was fine but I knew it wasn't. Not really.

"Lottie, do you remember when I checked your heart was working properly?" She nodded. "Well, I have some stickers that you can help me put on if you want to. They will check if your heart is doing its job properly.'' She nodded as Linda brought over the ECG machine.

_Linda's POV _

Sam looked pretty upset when she asked me to help her. It was so unlike her. I tried to finish up with his lordship (Local drunk who made an appearance at least once a week) as quickly as I could and headed straight to rhesus with Robyn on hand. Lottie was sat on the bed next to Sam. She was shaking, crying and clinging onto Sam for dear life.

She was in a bad way. She needed stitches on the right side of her head and her right arm appeared broken. We managed to stitch her head and make her feel a bit calmer. Sam had clearly gained her trust by the time she got there. She'd always been straight to the point with patients but this one was different. She had found closeness which Linda had never seen Sam find in a patient. She never let anything bother her. Especially children.

Lottie's temperature was still low and I was sent to get a blanket from the store cupboard. There was shouting in reception, I went to investigate. "Has my fucking daughter been in or not?" the rather aggressive man was screaming in Noel's face. "Like I said before, I need her details. What is her first name?"a frightened Noel replied. "Charlotte Williams, aged 3. Well has she or not?" He raged. I took a deep breath and headed towards reception. "No sir, I'm afraid not," Noel said as Big Mac turned up. A sigh of relief spread throughout reception. I did wonder if Lottie's first name was Charlotte but soon forgot about it. I got caught up in conversation with Tess about Same.

I finally went back armed with blankets and Calpol. I assumed Katie was in pain. When I got back to the room Sam was cradling Lottie in her arms, rocking her back and forth. Sam was singing a lullaby. I never seen her show a motherly side but she looked so natural. I just smiled at the lovely picture in front of me. "She's asleep," Sam told me. "Bless her, we'll take her to x-ray when she makes up. Do you want to put a canular in Sam?" I said putting the blanket around them both.

Sam gave me a weak smile and returned to her lullaby. When she had finished she eventually said "Linda can you make a start on Lottie's notes, I don't want to leave her?" I thought this might be the case so I agreed.

_Sam's POV_

Linda went off to write Lottie's notes but I just held her in my arms. I wondered what had happened. I wondered the last time she'd been given a hug, the last time somebody showed they cared for her. I needed to examine her properly, which meant putting her in a hospital gown.

She was wearing a pink jacket and a pale blue top. They were ripped and covered in dirt. She had purple tights and a denim skirt. Clearly dressed by a man, I thought. I started to take off Lottie's jacket. She was covered in bruises, cuts and bite marks. My eyes filled with tears, which I just let fall. The bite marks were clearly made by an adult. I began to cry uncontrollably as it sank in. Linda came rushing in at that and demanded I went for a break. I put Lottie on the bed, kissed her cheek and ran to the staff room.

I punched my locker and crumpled to the floor in tears. Why would somebody hurt a child? I'd cut my hand but I didn't care. "Sam, are you ok?" It was Zoe. Shit, I thought I was alone. "I'm fine, it's just been a long shift," I replied. "It's only two hours in. Let me look at your hand?" Zoe asked knowing I'd refuse. "No, I'm fine. I need to get back before my paeds patient wakes up," I said frantically and ran toward the door.


	2. Chapter 2 - Learning curve

Robyn's POV

I hadn't seen a child abuse case yet and I knew this one was going to be a tough one. Lottie was a beautiful child. She had matted blonde hair, sky blue eyes and a sweet smile. She was small for three years old and she looked like she could do with a bar of chocolate or two. I had one in my locker, maybe I could give it to her later.

I spoke to Lottie for a while, until x-ray was ready for her. As she was such a sensitive case I took her down myself as Big Mac would have scared her. She clung to my arm with all of her might and didn't let go until we got back. The x-ray confirmed that Lottie had broken her arm in two places.

Lottie had quite a few injuries. A head wound which Sam had treated already. A confirmed broken wrist and she had horrific bruising. She had bite marks up and down her legs and an infected cigarette burn on her left ankle. Linda said there was a suggestion of internal damage but the cause was unknown. I'd never seen anything like this and Linda said it was one of the worst cases she'd seen in a long time.

I decided now would be a good time to do some observations on Lottie. Everything was normal, except her pulse but Sam was already aware of this. I wrote everything down in her notes and just sat on the bed. Sam came in with the x-ray and looked annoyed. "What is it Sam?" I asked her. "Lottie needs a cast on her left wrist. Could you ring orthopaedics and get them to send somebody over please Robyn," She asked me. So I did as I was told and returned to sitting on the bed. "They're on their way apparently," I told her and Sam nodded in response.

Twenty minutes later, a short women with Harry potter glasses arrived. "Hello Dr Leary, I'm Dr Nicholls. This is Lottie; she is three years old and has broken both bones in her wrist, due to a nasty fall. Needs a cast pretty quickly," Sam explained to her briefly. Dr Leary had a quick look at the x-ray then began the base coat on Lottie's arm. Lottie whimpered a little but sat through the pain without complaint.

"Ok Lottie, what is your favourite colour?" Dr Leary asked her. "Pink or lello," she said smiling at Sam. "Well, it's your lucky day Lottie because I have a pink one. Would you like that?" Dr Leary excited her a little more. "Yes pweese!" Lottie replied politely.

After she had finished she gave Sam a leaflet with maintenance instructions and left. A couple of minutes passed in silence and I asked Lottie if she knew any games and she nodded eagerly. Sam placed Lottie on her knee and we started counting up to 100.

Dixie POV

I never meant to run out of rhesus like that. I just needed some space. I'm a strong independent women and I can do this alone. There's a reason I like women instead of men. I was abused as a child. I remember being as scared as Lottie. Feeling like I was all alone, feeling so scared. That's why I became a paramedic. I wanted to help people like Lottie, like me when nobody else could.

I wanted to go and check on her. I knew Sam would take good care of her and make sure she was alright but she didn't have much of a compassionate side did she? She was all business when it came to patients. Maybe I could give Lottie a hug and tell her everything would be ok. Would that even help?

Jeff was probably wondering where I'd got to. We'd been back from the shout almost an hour and I had 6 missed calls from him. He'd be annoyed about having to take out Norman. He'd understand though. Jeff is always lovely like that.

I decided to go and see Lottie. When I arrived Lottie was sat in Sam's arms playing a number game with Robyn. She was a very affectionate child and she had a beautiful smile. She didn't see me at first; I just stood silently watching from afar. "Hello Lottie," I said softly. Lottie looked at Sam for reassurance. "Lottie, do you remember the nice lady that brought you here?" Sam asked her gently. Lottie nodded and looked up at me. "Dixy," She said pointing at me. I smiled at her and asked Linda to keep me updated. "I'll see you soon Lottie, I have to go and save some special people like you," I told her, knowing she'd understand. "Dixy, a superhero Sam!" she explained and my heart melted.

Sam POV


End file.
